CCFI started in 1969 as a place where “juveniles” who didn’t have a safe place to stay could find refuge from troubling situations. Now I say juveniles in quotation marks because it’s not the juvenile delinquents we automatically think of when we see the word. In this instance, juvenile just means someone under the age of 18.
The Center for Children and Families hasn’t always been the name of the organization. In 1972, CCFI was known as JSI, Juvenile Services Inc. It later became known as CCFI in 1999 when the definition of Juvenile took a turn from minor to delinquent.
CCFI currently has 5 different programs offered for clients: Divorce Visitation Arbitration, Neighborhood Centers, Teenage Parenting, Parents Assistance and Extended Families.
As you might have thought, the Divorce Visitation Arbitration program provides assistance to families where the parents are separated or going through a divorce. It’s something that is offered not only to reduce stress in the children’s lives, but also to help the parents.
The Neighborhood Centers program gives chances for small communities to come together and build strong relationships.
Teenage Parenting, a growing, national problem, offers supports to teens that are pregnant or who have already have had the child.
Parents Assistance is specifically focused on helping and educating parents who are going through troubles times at home.
And finally, the Extended Families Program provides children under the age of 18, who have parents that are dealing with unfortunate circumstances, a place to stay for a short time.
Even though CCFI is funded by the United Way, they only give a small portion of funding. CCFI could always use more donations and more volunteers.
As mentioned above, CCFI has had no former publicity, but still they have a full house of clients. Think of all the extra help some publicity will do.
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